boohooMAN Interview: Hannah Wants

Hey Hannah, thanks so much for taking the time to chat to us today! On Sept 4th, you revealed to your Instagram that you had been battling with breast cancer 18 months ago. We’re so stoked to hear you’re taking a stance and fighting back!

So, how did you get into music?

You know what I’m not entirely sure how, I just know music has always been my passion for as long as I can remember! My mom would always have music blasting in the house as a child and I remember listening to the radio charts on a Sunday and ripping the tracks off with a cassette player!

When and where was your first ever set?

My first ever non paid set would have been a mates house party somewhere. My first ever paid set was in a pub, playing all night on some shitty karaoke equipment for £40.

In your Instagram posts, you explained how health is wealth and that you’ve taken a new approach to your self-care, how has this affected your lifestyle?

In a great way! I’m more conscious of my choices now whereas before I was blind as well as ignorant. My life is a little less fast paced but I needed that and I guess I just put me and my health first now whereas before work would come first.

Keeping it secret didn’t affect me or my shows – it was my choice to keep things private so that I could 1. Come to terms with it, 2. Allow myself to heal and adjust to my new way of life and 3. Go public when I was in good health.

What was your reaction to the response from your fans?

Incredible! I’ve felt nothing but good energy and I appreciate it a lot. Another reason I went public was to help others as well as let the people who support me know where I’ve been at for the past 18 months as in terms of music releases, output has been a little slow.

You’ve released your new track ‘How Long’ which is quite different from your usual style, talk us through how it came about.

Yes it is! So I went to school with Kate Loveridge. She’s an incredible singer song writer and it was always the plan to work on a record together. She’d been sending me ideas over and this How Long just hit me hard. I loved the meaning of the record and I wanted to make something with more of an uplifting, summer feel so it was perfect!

How have your fans taken to the track?

Because my DJ sets are heavier in sound I’ve been ending my set with How Long and it’s just crazy but nice crazy to watch people singing all the words. The feedback has been great and it’s got me super hyped for my forthcoming club releases!

Can you remember your first ever gig? Who did you see?

I don’t think I can remember my first ever gig, I know my first ever festival was Global Gathering as an underaged youth haha. Messy weekend! My favourite gig though has gotta be either when I went to see Fleetwood Mac orrrrr even The Cranberries, I went to see them last year just a few months before Delores tragically passed away and I feel super blessed to have witnessed her live. Incredibly talented soul.

Who would you’re ultimate collaboration be with, past or present?

I get asked this a lot and right now I’m not sure who I’d answer, I’m trying to play a bit of catch up with my solo material so I’m fully focused on that right now. I would however like Mick Fleetwood to teach me how to play the drums though!

What’s your career highlight to date?

This question is impossible to answer. I’ve been a professional full time DJ for around 6/7 years now and it’s been one hell of a journey – I’ve enjoyed working my way up from playing to no one in bars through to thousands in a festival tent and I’m appreciative of it all. I just love being able to do what I love for a living and stand behind decks around the world!

What’s in store for you for the rest of this year?

I’m just finishing up a crazy summer touring period before heading to North America in October and I’m gonna be taking it a little bit easy in November and December gig wise so I can concentrate in the studio!

In terms of music releases my next single drops on October 12th via my new record label Etiquette. It’s titled ‘Close To You’ and it’s a techy club banger! That will be followed by a track that I’ve been rinsing all summer to great effect, ‘You Keep Comin’! There’s lot of exciting stuff in the pipeline and I’m excited to get rolling it out!

Thanks again for chatting to us, the boohooMAN team are huge fans, we’re happy to hear you’re doing better and wish you all the best for the road ahead!